Demonstration Sites – an operational laboratory for UPPER's environmental challenges

To address the problems highlighted, UPPER proposed a holistic approach, trying to integrate the urban landscape and the rural one with the intention of recreating a connection between all the green and blue infrastructures of the city and at the same time developing a model of sustainable urbanization.

In this regard, 11 urban green areas in a state of abandonment were initially identified to be allocated to the creation of 3 NBS Production Parks and 8 Demonstration Sites to test the interventions of self-produced NBS such as phytopurification, planting of trees or native vegetation and naturalistic engineering measures.

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen problems, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the increase in prices on raw materials following the war in Ukraine which made the budgets initially allocated inadequate and finally the administration of the municipality which did not ensure continuity in the development of operations, the project underwent a remodulation of what was conceived, limiting the transformation of the demonstration sites from 8 to 5 and the creation of the Production Parks from 3 to 1.

In any case, the municipal administration, having acquired the guidelines on the interventions to be carried out (“Technical Annex on the design of Demonstration Sites”), has included the planning within the Three-Year Program of Public Works for the implementation of the missing interventions. During the last months of the project, the Municipality of Latina benefited from the contributions of the Territorial Strategy of the 2021-2027 FESR Regional Programme, which will guarantee the correct closure of the construction activities.

A further contribution to the realization of demonstration sites was the "Green Areas Bank" initiative: a possibility open to citizens to expand the public green areas available to the city. Through a membership form (https://www.comune.latina.it/2020/12/17/modulo-banca-aree-verdi/) citizens, associations or other local actors were able to share parks, private courtyards and gardens to allow third sector bodies participating in UPPER to propose recreational and socio-educational activities based on nature involving citizens or schools of Latina, or allow the installation of native plant species to continue the NBS experimentation already started in the Demonstration Sites.

UPPER's environmental studies had a technical-scientific coordination carried out by the project partners Fondazione Roffredo Caetani and Circeo National Park together with a group of young researchers and teachers from different disciplines belonging to the "Research and Services Center for Sustainable Technological Innovation ” (Ce.R.S.I.Te.S.) of Sapienza University of Rome.

The Ce.R.S.I.Te.S. has set up its analysis and intervention methodologies with a transdisciplinary approach to ensure coexistence between the protection of biodiversity and urban, social and economic aspects.

The remediation work of the identified areas was then discussed with the other project partners, Labirinto and Tesserae, responsible for aspects complementary to the environmental theme, so that the interventions designed were shared and integrated among all the actors who operated in the same places to ensure the duration of the project’s activities in a future perspective. In fact, every intervention involving the installation of NBS, beyond its environmental benefits, has been designed considering the needs expressed by the citizens who live in those places and the practical possibilities for maintaining plants and spaces.

The project partners selected self-maintenance solutions, or with minimal maintenance needs, carried out by the municipal Environmental Service or by the citizens themselves who take care of the green areas through Collaboration Agreements with the administration, according to the governance model Public-Private-People-Partnership developed by UPPER.

Among the many possible Nature-based Solutions, which includes technologies and methods, the choice of those to be installed in the UPPER Demonstration Sites falls among those that could be included under three categories: solutions for the abiotic system; solutions for the movement and resting of fauna; solutions for utility and sociability through plants.

In particular, for the selection of plant species to be installed, native plants were identified to the greatest extent possible, recognized not only for their ecological value but also for their landscape identity value.

For example, the plant species selected for the consolidation of the banks are: Populus nigra, Salix alba, Mespilus germanica, Laurus nobilis, Ulmus minor, Acer campestre; those for the elimination of heat islands are of the arboreal type: Acer campestre, Quercus robur, Quercus cerris, Quercus frainetto, Quercus ilex, Platanus hybrida, and of the shrubby type: Phillyrea, Pistacia lentiscus, Erica arborea, Cistus albidus.

Finally, for the phytoremediation (riparian and aquatic zone), the following plant species were chosen: Phragmites australis, Typha latifolia, Typha angustifolia, Potamogeton spp., Juncus spp., Iris pseudacorus, Caltha palustris, Alnus glutinosa, Glycerion Fluitantis.

At the same time, for the protection of fauna, improvement interventions were especially designed for the more external areas, with the creation of artificial nests to encourage nesting together with areas preserved in the original conditions to host natural refuges and ecotunnels to guarantee continuity between the green areas currently fragmented by confinements and road infrastructures.

The inspections carried out at the observation sites with support equipment such as camera traps and bat detectors revealed the presence of many species including amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, some of which are also of interest from a conservation point of view.

At the green infrastructure level, the proposals aim to restore and conserve permeable surfaces, control water flow to allow greater recharge of the aquifer and collect rainwater to improve plant health.

Not all the planned interventions were carried out in the early stages of implementation. Initially, the partners choose interventions with limited costs, mainly linked to the preparation of the flowerbeds, definition of paths, planting of the first trees, creation of irrigation systems powered by renewable sources, creation of street furniture with information signs.

In the future, depending on its financial capabilities, the Municipality of Latina will integrate the complementary NBS that were indicated in the study project, which require differentiated technologies and costs.

The green areas identified for demonstration sites 1 and 8 are located in the immediate vicinity of the future Productive Park 1 of Campo Boario and have been joint into a single demonstration site as they present the same geomorphological characteristics extending along the entire stretch of the Acque Mediae Channel, which crosses various neighbourhoods of the city (Campo Boario, Gionchetto, Pantanaccio, Villaggio Trieste and Piccarello). Because it is located in such a densely populated and fundamental place in the city from an environmental point of view and because it constitutes an important blue way connecting the mountain areas (Lepini Mountains) and the coast, this demonstration site has experienced a different genesis compared to the others .

The interest of the population through the activism of environmental and cultural associations and neighborhood committees, coordinated within the co-designing activities run by the UPPER partner Tesserae, allowed to acquire a more complex structure with the establishment in August 2021 of the “Acque Mediae Park".

The park project, which extends for over 6 km, was created to reconnect the marginal part located in the North-East to the centre of the city, encouraging sustainable mobility and use by citizens, improving the quality of the waters of the Canal, increasing biodiversity while preventing hydrogeological risks linked to floods that have already occurred in the past and are more likely in the future due to climate change.

The interventions envisaged by Ce.R.S.I.Te.S. consist of: planting of plant species with a filter function against polluting substances coming from the road surface; creation of lamination reservoirs that do not modify the artificial bed of the canal but only its banks to prevent hydrogeological risk; creation of riparian strips for the consolidation of the banks and the control of flood events; creation of environments suitable for avifauna; inclusion of pedestrian and cycle paths with bird watching stations to encourage residents to use them for sport and leisure and therefore activate the recreational and social function of the NBS solutions applied to the territory.

The work plan proposed for the "Medium Water Park" will serve as a pilot project for all the other sites in the area that have a similar structure, with green bands that involve rivers and canals that constitute a structural network of the Pontine landscape.

The place selected for the Demonstration site n.2 is a parking surface inside the Mercanti square, close to the Productive Park 2 in an area of the city with a high population density due to the presence of numerous economic and social activities such as: schools of various levels, the weekly market, the local police command and the bishop's curia.

The demonstration site is emblematic of an area in which the anthropic matrix has almost completely replaced the original natural conformation made up of scrub areas and parts of the forest. The transformation of the area today records an almost complete sealing of the soil with asphalt and other materials.

The interventions planned in the parking area is coherent with what is being carried out in Productive Park 2 to create continuity and connection, both at an environmental and educational level, with the city areas involved in the NBS actions.

The initial work to transform the area started with the unsealing of parts of the land to allow the introduction of plant species in order to improve shading, limit the load of air and soil pollutants, mitigate the heat island phenomenon and provide shelter for birds, insects and other animals.

Furthermore, the operation of removing the waterproofed layers of the soil rehabilitates a very important hydraulic function for the complex system of a city, since it allows the territory to drain and manage in a widespread manner the rain water load of the rains which increase more often with very high precipitation intensity. The species selected for the site (for example the Ash and Turkey oak) only require a drip irrigation system for the first years of their life which allows to save water and limit CO2 emissions. In a subsequent phase, the implementation interventions include the installation of rainwater collection and infiltration tanks to allow the recharge of water table and the irrigation of plant species installed during periods of drought.

The technique involves the creation of two tanks, one waterproofed and the other not, capable of communicating with each other through a space created in the most superficial part: when the first tank reaches saturation point, it pours the excess water into the second tank which disperses the contents. The storage tanks can be created using the lightened soil system (LWTS, Lightweight Treated Soil: a mixture of soils and aggregates made from vegetable fibres, highly permeable materials), or via draining trenches with rigofill-type modules (tanks made of plastic capable of accumulating and retaining rainwater to disperse it at a later stage).

Bus station

Also in this case, the proposed intervention consists of a parking area, located this time in an area of the city close to the historic centre and the main interchange hub for public transport with the provinces of Latina, Rome and Frosinone. The interventions with NBS on this site are part of a redevelopment plan for the entire area of the bus station. The parking surface selected for the Upper project was poorly used and the new design includes landscape and environmental interventions linked to all the benefits already illustrated on the depaving of the road surface.

The car park surfaces, being completely waterproofed and with the absence of trees and green areas, contribute to the creation of heat islands in urban areas, especially in the summer period. Reducing impervious surfaces and creating new flowerbeds with trees and shrubs is a method of lowering temperatures, absorbing CO2 and hosting pollinating insects. The choice of plant species with a strong landscape identity fell on elm, ash, cork, turkey oak and Judas tree in order to recreate a suggestion of the natural landscape prior to the complete reclamation. The plant species selection work was by the partners Ce.R.S.I.Te.S., Roffredo Caetani Foundation and Circeo National Park.

Pontina tower

This site is made up of three segments of uncultivated green areas included in a completely urbanized context near the Pontina Tower and a large shopping centre. The initial project involved the creation of an area intended for urban vegetable gardens, the creation of a food forest with the planting of native fruit species and a dog walking area. However, the lack of interest shown by the residents meant that the interventions were suspended, at least temporarily, from the intervention action.

The NBS interventions in Ilaria Alpi square are based on the participatory interaction with associations and inhabitants of the neighborhood, who over the years had already developed their own design idea for the green area and who collaborated on the new co-design with the UPPER partners, also actively participating in the proposed activities and making the square a sharing laboratory that covered various areas: social, urban, environmental. Morphologically, Ilaria Alpi square is a green space with a perfectly rectangular plan, defined by wings of residential buildings, level car parks and the church of Santa Chiara behind which there are two panoramic views, on the left on a eucalyptus grove and on the right on the Lepini Mountains.

The inhabitants of the neighbourhood, organized in the "Parco degli Elleni Committee", which has now become the "Piazza Ilaria Alpi Committee", promoted various initiatives, first of all the recognition of the square as a green area so that it could receive the necessary ordinary maintenance care by the municipal environmental service. Subsequently, with the help of three architects, the committee donated to the municipal administration a project for the organization of the area with the division into zones intended for different functions. The Municipality has implemented portions of the project with the planting of some trees donated by the Sikh community as part of the "Million Tree Project" and the installation of a playground area, which has made the square a meeting place, finally frequented by the inhabitants of the neighbourhood.

The Piazza Ilaria Alpi Committee then signed a Collaboration Pact for the shared management of the green area and for the entire duration of the UPPER project, the square was the scene of various initiatives, such as the installation of a synergistic vegetable garden and classroom open and UPPER Seeds recreational events.

The project proposal of Ce.R.S.I.Te.S. integrates and harmonizes with nature-based solutions what has already been designed by the Young Pontine Architects. The choices focus on the two views on the sides of the church of Santa Chiara: on the one hand the installation of a grove of native essences and on the other the installation of place suitable for shows and meetings, which at the same time acts as a swale, which is a system of channels that collect rainwater and slowly release it when necessary.

The composite urban forest arises on the left, in correspondence with the eucalyptus, to extend its ecological connectivity and provide an image of the vegetation pre-existing the complete reclamation. The selected species are divided into shrubs (broom, cistus, mastic, phillyrea, evonnimo) and native trees (ash, maple, holm oak, manna ash, downy oak, Judas tree). An underground irrigation system will guarantee its establishment and growth in the first years, limiting excessive use of water. A second green infrastructure, postponed to a subsequent phase of construction, is planned to the right of the grove, along the axis of the glimpse of the Lepini Mountains. An embankment of approximately two meters which slopes down to the ground intended for shows and assembly meetings, with a crown of fruit trees to delimit the area above, which will be self-sufficient as it will draw the water and nourishment necessary for the plants from the swale system .

Swales are a system of canals that manage to create self-sufficient ecosystems as they retain water rather than letting it flow away and allow it to slowly infiltrate into an underground reserve to be reused when necessary. At the same time, the reserve is a source of life for many microorganisms that generate organic matter useful for fertilizing the soil. All the other infrastructures planned in the new areas (dog run, teaching area, sports equipment) will be built with environmentally friendly materials and designed to accommodate photovoltaic systems for lighting.

The demonstration site which runs between Francisco Goya, Pierluigi Nervi and Pontina streets is a large peripheral and uncultivated green area in continuity with a regenerated woodland area with the presence of century-old trees. UPPER has planned for this area the creation of a tree-lined cycle-pedestrian path to be completed in subsequent phases with a green barrier in the part that runs along the 148 Pontina regional road, to protect the residential areas from noise coming from the road, to be created using metal cages filled with stone, wood and other inert natural materials combined with plants. Furthermore, the creation of a food forest and an ecotunnel crossing the 148 Pontina road is planned to connect the area with the Q4/Q5 neighborhoods.

These two city public car parking areas, separated by Viale XVIII Dicembre, are characterized by almost totally waterproof surfaces which during the hot season contribute to create the phenomenon of heat islands. To promote ecological connectivity between green areas of the city and mitigate temperatures in that area, a depaving intervention was designed for part of the road surface to plant rows of hedges and native trees also with the function of shading the parking spaces. In the car park on Via Lepanto/Via Legnano the species selected for planting are Elm, Eucalyptus and Field Maple. The Via Neghelli car park includes: Elm, Ash, Cork and Field Maple. Selective drip irrigation systems are also foreseen to save water and CO2 production.

In a second phase, to better contain the heat island, draining pavements could be installed which allow surface greening of the entire parking area. In this way, having the foresight to plant the right plant essences in a stratified way and according to the different flowering times, the site would become suitable to host more animal species, from pollinating insects to invertebrates and and land and air vertebrates.

There are three areas that make up the demonstration site n.9 and are located within the "Susetta Guerrini" green oasis, between the neighborhoods of Nascosa and Nuova Latina. On a naturalistic level, the presence of the Paolone and Morbella ditches indicate a connection with the waters, in fact in ancient times the area was immersed in vegetation and crossed by waterways and marshy areas. Today the ditches are partially covered and this creates fractures in the ecosystem as well as a hydraulic problem that cannot be solved by restoring the initial situation. Still, the UPPER project proposes solutions to improve connectivity and above all prevent the risk of flooding.

The interventions for the latter Demonstration Sites include on the one hand the landscape recovery with a redevelopment of the existing vegetation and the eradication of weedy plant species such as the Arundo donax, on the other hand the restoration of ecological functionality through the stabilization and reinforcement of the ditch banks with the chage wall system and the preservation of the humid environment to safeguard the amphibian habitat. The chage wall is a support structure for a natural wall created by combining reinforcing material and synthetic or metal nets which increases the volume of land available for the tree and shrub species that will be inserted later.

All the interventions planned for these areas have currently been suspended as they will follow the developed of sites n.1 and n.8, which will act as a pilot for the consolidation operations of the embankments against the risks of flooding and with plantings of vegetal species with a filter function for polluting substances coming from the road surface.

All the works on the setting up of the Demonstration Sites and the flora and fauna surveys can be consulted on the WHiP platform (WebGIS Holding Interactive Platform): https://lpdt.cersites.uniroma1.it/index.php/ view/map?repository=upper&project=UPPER_WHIP

WHiP is a platform developed with GIS (geographical information system) and developed with Qgis software, which creates, manages, analyses and maps all types of data. In line with the philosophy of UPPER's participatory processes, WHiP has been structured with an interactive vocation, where the user can download, enrich with simple graphic drawings and comment on the renderings of the areas of intervention. The platform was built with maps available mostly on Open Data Lazio and provides two types of data obtained through surveys:

- data from the monitoring stations on weather conditions and air quality created by the partner ENGIE (https://upper.aws.engie.it/stations);

- data from surveys carried out in the field using proximal and remote sensing techniques.

Through these techniques, some native plants already present in the area were monitored. For each plant, some samplings were made on different leaves to evaluate different vegetation indices (such as vegetal cover, nutrients in the plants, soil humidity...), which, measured over time, allow evaluating the effectiveness of the interventions introduced. The results of both surveys, on the one hand meteorological and on the other vegetational, aim to offer a complete monitoring framework on the NBS interventions carried out, to allow evaluating their impacts, plan correction strategies and therefore develop adaptive management of local resources.

The demonstration sites, which were the initial operational basis for testing the exploitation of NBS in urban settings, posed several challenges for the Municipality of Latina and the project partners. First of all at an organizational level, the delays accumulated in the roadmap forced all the project partners to find together a way to complete what had been set by modifying the times, budget and size of the interventions.

The creation of the Demonstration Sites and the construction of other technical interventions in future territorial planning, requires not only a commitment in terms of the administration's urban policies, but a real awareness of the importance of environmental sustainability in the city context.

The experience of introducing targeted Nature-Based Solutions, in agreement between all the actors in a territory, has demonstrated how starting from small operations linked to nature a series of resilience opportunities can be generated in cascade for the city, in terms of environmental redevelopment, ecosystem recovery, mobilization of the suburbs, social inclusion, prevention of risks related to climate change, improvement of governance processes and long-term local development - a local response to global urgencies.